House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Pest Control

Alan Brown: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost was of rodent and pest control (a) measures and (b) services in each year since 2010.

Sir Charles Walker: Costs prior to 2012/13 are not available. The costs from 2012/13–2022/23 are provided as an attachment.Costs of pest control (pdf, 69.7KB)

Parliamentary Estate: Pest Control

Alan Brown: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost was of the installation of rodent devices across the Estate in the last year.

Sir Charles Walker: The cost of rodent devices cannot be disaggregated from general pest control costs and is delivered on a bicameral basis. Pest control costs for the 2022 financial year are below: ClassificationAmount (Gross)Amount (HoC)Amount (HoL)General controls101,85761,11440,743Consultancy3,7852,2711,514Bird Control20,52012,3128,208Total126,16275,69750,465 1) Bird control costs vary from year to year as necessity fluctuates depending on the level of pests presenting a risk of damage to stonework.2) General Controls include the cost of a full-time pest control technician and all traps and baits not covered elsewhere.

Victoria Tower: Repairs and Maintenance

Alan Brown: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the budget is for the Victoria Tower project.

Sir Charles Walker: This complex project on the 160-year-old tower will involve the full scaffolding of the tower, repairs to the stonework which currently poses a health and safety risk, as well as all other fabric conservation works that can be meaningfully undertaken from a scaffold. Subject to further detailed analysis, it is expected to cost between £170–£250 million. A firm budget within this range will be released for approval in line with the Parliamentary Governance approval process in early 2024.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to Sudanese (a) civil society and (b) communities providing first response relief in Sudan.

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Sudanese (a) civil society and (b) communities working to help prevent further conflict in Sudan.

Leo Docherty: The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. There can be no international aid without safe and reliable access. As part of our engagement as the Quad (KSA, US, UK, UAE) we have pushed both for the extension of the ceasefire and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.The UK will support a well-coordinated and prioritised regional response. We will coordinate with the international humanitarian system (including INGOs, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations) to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond if and when the access situation improves.

Sudan: British Nationals Abroad

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any Welsh citizens have been evacuated from Sudan following the recent unrest in that country.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British citizens are located in Sudan as of 25 April 2023.

Leo Docherty: The safety of all British nationals in Sudan continues to be our priority. The Consular Contact Centre has received 4,121 calls (as of 18:00 26 April) since Friday 15 April, although some of these will represent multiple calls concerning the same consular case.So far around 3,400 British nationals have registered their presence with the Foreign Office Crisis Hub. [correct as of 00.00 28 April]. We do not collect data on where nationals come from within the UK.Since 25 April we have assisted the departure of 895 (as of 0500 28 April) British nationals through flights to Cyprus. We will continue to evacuate British nationals from Sudan as the situation allows.

Sudan: International Assistance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people in Sudan.

Leo Docherty: For people in Sudan, the UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. We are coordinating with the international humanitarian system (including International Non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations) to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond when the access situation improves.

Bahrain: Prisoners

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his Bahraini counterpart and (b) Bahraini oversight bodies on the complaint filed by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy in relation to the denial of medical treatment to (i) Abdulwahab Hussein, (ii) Sheikh Abduljalil Al-Muqdad, (iii) Hassan Mushaima and (iv) Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace.

David Rutley: The FCDO follows matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely, including some individual cases. UK Ministers and senior officials regularly raise sensitive issues. Recently the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed a range of human rights issues and some individual cases during his visit to Bahrain on Sunday 12 February. We also encourage those with issues to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini independent oversight body.

Sudan: British Nationals Abroad

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to British nationals who are being temporarily housed in camps on the Sudan and Egypt border as they flee Sudan.

Leo Docherty: The FCDO continues to support British nationals. We have put forward an enhanced consular presence from the FCDO in neighbouring countries to help to facilitate border crossings, including on the border points in Egypt, as well as Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia. We have also established a temporary presence in Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast.

Ministry of Justice

Sex Offender Treatment Programme

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of sex offending treatment programmes on reoffending rates.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Kaizen sex offender treatment programmes were imposed in the period since 2017.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Horizon sex offender treatment programmes were imposed in the period since 2017.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what categories of sexual offences are included in the Kaizen sex offender treatment programme.

Damian Hinds: A number of studies have been published that relate to HMPPS Offending Behaviour Programmes. The following is a list of studies published within the last 6 months that are related to those programmes designed to address reoffending in those persons convicted of sexual offences:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/horizon-and-ihorizon-psychometric-analyses-of-the-success-wheel-measure.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/horizon-and-ihorizon-an-uncontrolled-before-after-study-of-clinical-outcomes.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthy-sex-programme-an-exploration-of-pre-to-post-psychological-test-change.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-release-reoffending-outcomes-for-individuals-with-offence-related-sexual-paraphilias.Participation statistics detailing the total number of programme starts and completions in a given year can be found on the .gov website. The latest statistics for delivery in Prisons can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1108451/Education_Publication_202122.xlsx. The latest statistics for Probation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-national-offender-management-service-digest-2016-to-2017.Kaizen does not include or exclude potential participants based on offence categories. For people convicted of sexual offences, Kaizen includes those who are assessed as presenting with a high or very high risk of recidivism as assessed by the OASys Sexual Reoffending Predictor (OSP/C). The OSP tool predicts the likelihood of proven reoffending for a sexual and / or sexually motivated contact offence based on someone’s history of contact and noncontact sexual offending against adults and children.

Prisoners: Women

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has taken recent steps to ensure that women who become pregnant while awaiting court or sentencing have their pregnancy considered as a mitigating factor.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the number of (a) pregnant women and (b) mothers of babies under the age of two who are sent to prison.

Damian Hinds: Our Female Offender Strategy makes clear that we want fewer women entering custody and more being managed in the community.We have developed an aide memoire to support probation practitioners completing pre-sentence reports (PSRs) on women. It is designed to improve the quality and consistency of PSRs, by highlighting key areas for practitioners to consider when assessing the diverse needs of women in the context of offending (including health, relationships and caring responsibilities), in order to support a robust proposal for a community sentence whenever appropriate.Sentencing and remand decisions in individual cases are entirely a matter for the courts, which are independent of Government. The Sentencing Council, which is also independent, has provided guidance to sentencers on the factors to be taken into account when sentencing female offenders, including pregnancy, and being the sole or primary carer for dependent relatives. In relation to an offender who is pregnant, relevant considerations may include any effect of the sentence on the health of the offender and any effect on the unborn child. The guidance makes clear that where an offender is at the threshold of custody, imprisonment should not be imposed if the impact on dependents would be disproportionate.

National Women's Prisons Health and Social Care Review

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the publication of the report on the National Review of Health and Social Care in Women’s Prisons.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the National Review of Health and Social Care in Women’s Prisons will cover women’s sexual and reproductive healthcare in the prison system.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of (a) pregnant women and (b) mothers of babies under two years old who have entered the prison system on remand in the last year.

Damian Hinds: The National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review, commissioned jointly by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and NHS England, is due to report in Spring 2023. The scope of the review includes women’s sexual and reproductive healthcare in prison. Following a policy review, we began collecting information on the number of babies born to women in the prison estate in 2020-21. National data on pregnancy and births, and on Mother and Baby Units, are now published annually in the HMPPS Annual Digest. Data on the number of women who are pregnant or who are mothers of babies under two years old who have entered the prison system on remand is not collected or held centrally. Information on prisoners’ caring responsibilities and children living in the community is monitored locally by prison Governors and Directors, to ensure appropriate support can be provided to offenders and their families.

Community Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court applications to extend supervision due to community sentence unpaid work going unfulfilled were made by his Department in each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: For the years 2021 to 23 April 2023, the following number of court applications to extend Unpaid Work requirements were made Calendar YearNumber of applications to Court202123522022962720232262 The data for the years 2010-2020 can only be provided at disproportionate cost due to the time and resource that would be needed to search each service record.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Refuges

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will take steps to prevent (a) Nationwide Tracing Services Ltd and (b) other specialist people-tracing firms from offering services that enable perpetrators of domestic abuse to track down victims staying at confidential refuges.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will meet (a) the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley and (b) representatives of Women's Aid to discuss the use of (i) Nationwide Tracing Services Ltd and (ii) other specialist people-tracing firms by perpetrators of domestic abuse to track down victims staying at confidential refuges.

Felicity Buchan: The safety of women and girls across the country is a key Government priority. We are taking a range of steps to tackle perpetrators and prevent re-offending to protect all victims. For example, the Home Office recently concluded a £36 million competition to increase the availably of interventions for domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators.Police can also put in place measures to protect victims of domestic abuse or stalking, including pre-charge bail conditions, and applying for protective orders, such as Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) or Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs). In the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Government legislated for a new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Order, which will go even further in protecting victims from all forms of domestic abuse. Courts will be able to impose conditions such as electronic monitoring and attendance on a behaviour change programme, alongside mandatory notification requirements to protect the victim. The new notice and order will be piloted from Spring 2024 in three police force areas and with the British Transport Police.It is critical for the safety of victims that women's refuges and other types of domestic abuse safe accommodation can keep their locations secret.I would welcome a meeting with the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley and representatives of Women's Aid to discuss this issue.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of advertising in local news media to increase awareness of the new voter ID requirements ahead of local elections in May 2023.

Dehenna Davison: The national communications campaign for voter identification is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission. The Commission launched its wide-reaching public awareness campaign on 9th January to ensure voters understand the change and to support continued participation in the electoral process. The Government has supported this, including through amplification of the message through government channels, through messaging on GOV.UK.In addition to the Commission's campaign, the Government has allocated £4.75 million of additional funding to all local authorities with polls in May 2023 to support local communications.

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had discussions with property developers on the potential merits of creating legal requirements for air pollution monitors to be built onto new properties or estates for the provision of localised data.

Rachel Maclean: There are already strong protections in place in national planning policy to safeguard people from unacceptable risks from air pollution. These will be material considerations for a local council when determining a planning application, as will the planning concerns of the local community.The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that new development should be appropriate for its location, taking account of the effects of pollution on people's health. The planning guidance which supports the National Planning Policy Framework sets out when air quality could be relevant to a planning decision, including requirements for an Environmental Impact Assessment.There are currently more than 500 air quality monitoring sites, managed at least partly by the Environment Agency, across the United Kingdom, made up of 14 networks measuring a range of pollutants, which provide information to the public. These are managed by the Environment Agency on behalf of Defra.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what eligibility criteria his Department used to identify which developers to ask to sign the developer remediation contract.

Lee Rowley: This is already set out publicly including in the relevant regulations.

Department for Transport

Motorways: Safety

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the news story entitled All new smart motorways scrapped, published by his Department on 15 April 2023, how much his Department spent on the (a) planning and (b) design of the (i) 11 schemes paused from the second and (ii) three schemes earmarked for construction during the third road investment strategy.

Mr Richard Holden: Since the beginning of the Smart Motorways Programme in the mid-2000s, which was subsequently expanded, including in 2007 and in February 2010, approximately £21.9m has been spent on planning and £37.4m on design of the 11 smart motorways schemes that were allocated to be completed during the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2), and which have now been cancelled. £2.9m has been spent on planning the three smart motorway schemes earmarked for potential inclusion in the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) period. No costs have been incurred on design activities for these three schemes due to their early cancellation.

Cabinet Office

King Charles III: Art Works

Dawn Butler: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the announcement made on 1 April 2023 on Portraits of His Majesty The King for UK public authorities, whether his Department holds information on who will take the portrait of King Charles III; and whether a contract has been awarded to produce and frame the copies which will be available for public authorities.

Alex Burghart: On 1 April we announced that public authorities throughout the United Kingdom will, in due course, be able to apply for a free portrait of His Majesty The King as part of a scheme to celebrate the new reign. The Government considers it is right that public authorities as part of the fabric of our nation, have the opportunity to commemorate this moment and reflect the new era in our history. The scheme will be opened later this year following the taking and release of the official photographic portraits of His Majesty by the Royal Household. Further details on the official portrait will be confirmed in due course in coordination with the Royal Household.

Blood: Contamination

Drew Hendry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Second Interim Report, published on 5 April 2023, if he will make it his policy to ensure prompt payment of compensation in line with Sir Brian Langstaff's interim recommendations.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the honourable Member to the statement made on Wednesday 19 April 2023, in response to the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Second Interim Report.

Cybersecurity

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to protect UK infrastructure from cyber attacks.

Jeremy Quin: Ensuring our infrastructure is secure and resilient against cyber attack, in the context of rapidly changing threat and technology, is at the heart of our national approach to cyber security. Our National Cyber Strategy sets out how we will build a resilient and prosperous digital UK. We are setting clear expectations for operators of critical infrastructures, including ambitious targets for improvement. We have strengthened regulatory frameworks through the Telecoms Security Act, consulted on amendments to the Network and Information Systems Regulations and are considering options to go further. Through the National Cyber Security Centre we support infrastructure operators with tailored technical advice, guidance, and threat intelligence to build resilience in the national interest. This includes the recent alert on the threat from state-aligned groups following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Disinformation

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2023 to Question 153687 on Disinformation, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Christchurch.

Alex Burghart: All requested documentation has now been collated and assessed. A response letter has now been issued and deposited in the House Library.

Ministers: Members' Interests

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February to Question 140150 on Ministers: Members' Interests, what progress he has made on aligning ministerial interests declarations more closely with the declarations of Members of Parliament.

Alex Burghart: I refer the Right Honourable Member to the official record here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-02-20/debates/9DF0D70A-7E95-4FEB-9C02-DF57D3EA4E94/CabinetOffice#2MC The Government is assessing a number of recommendations from both the Committee on Standards in Public Life and Nigel Boardman regarding Ministers' quarterly transparency returns, which cover gifts; hospitality, meetings and overseas travel.

Public Sector: Procurement

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of the closure of Digital Marketplace on transparency in procurement.

Alex Burghart: The Digital Marketplace is a legacy platform and is being replaced by the new Contract Award Service (CAS). CAS operates both of the commercial agreements previously available on the Digital Marketplace. Historic transparency information will continue to be publicly available from the Digital Marketplace for the next 3 years. Current and future procurement transparency information will be available from the CAS platform for both of the commercial agreements that were previously available on the Digital Marketplace.

Home Office

Refugees: Rwanda

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of reports of potential violence towards refugees deported to Rwanda from the UK by (a) organisations or bodies under the control of the Rwandan Government and (b) other groups originating within Rwanda.

Robert Jenrick: Rwanda has an established record of welcoming asylum seekers and refugees and our assessment, as set out in the relevant Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs), found it to be a generally safe and secure country. The Memorandum of Understanding and associated Notes Verbales set out the support in place for individuals relocated to Rwanda and details of the oversight provided by the Joint Committee and independent Monitoring Committee.The UK and Rwanda have a strong relationship. Working together, the Migration and Economic Development Partnership will see people who come to the UK through dangerous and illegal routes relocated to Rwanda, where they will be given the opportunity to settle and rebuild their lives.We have always maintained that this policy is lawful, including complying with the Refugee Convention, and last year the High court upheld this. We continue to defend the policy against legal challenge.

Asylum

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has taken steps to prioritise the processing of older asylum cases submitted before the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 came into force on the 28th June 2022.

Robert Jenrick: To speed up the asylum process for legacy claims, those made before 28 June 2022, around 12,000 asylum seekers from high-grant nationalities within the legacy WIP are being asked to provide information in a new Home Office questionnaire to help determine their case. The intention of these questionnaires is to enable claimants to provide any further information about their claims after their initial screening interview upon arrival. All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. These checks are critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system.  We are driving further productivity improvements by simplifying and modernising our system. This includes: shorter, more focused interviews, making guidance simpler and more accessible; dealing with cases more swiftly where they can be certified as clearly unfounded; and recruiting extra decision makers. We have already doubled our decision makers over the last 2 years, and we are continuing to recruit more. This will take our expected number of decision makers to 1,800 by summer and 2,500 by September 2023.

Entry Clearances: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to ensure that new visa waiver schemes do not discourage visitors to Northern Ireland.

Robert Jenrick: To strengthen the security of the UK border, the Government is introducing an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme for those passengers visiting the UK or transiting through the UK who do not currently need a visa for short stays and do not have any other immigration status prior to travelling. This is similar in nature to the US ‘ESTA’ and the EU’s ETIAS which will also be shortly introduced.As is currently the case, individuals arriving in the UK, including those crossing the land border into Northern Ireland, will need to continue to enter in line with the UK’s immigration framework, including the requirement to obtain an ETA when it is introduced. However, currently, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the Common Travel Area, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the land border. The Government remains committed to working with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the ETA requirement is communicated effectively to help mitigate against any risk of it being seen as a barrier to cross-border tourism on the island of Ireland.

Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner: Public Appointments

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to appoint the new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The role of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) as set out in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences and the identification of victims.The Home Secretary recognises the importance of the role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and had launched a new open competition to recruit for this role.The role went live on 23 February 2023 and applications have now closed. For further information and the estimated timeline for this appointment please see the public appointment section on gov.uk.The competition will be conducted as quickly as possible, whilst ensuring we take the necessary steps to recruit the best person for the role.

Motor Vehicles: Theft

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with officials at the National Crime Agency on the theft of cars by criminal gangs.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of car thefts in London; and if she will make a statement.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the trend in the number of car thefts in (a) the London Borough of Hounslow and (b) outer London boroughs.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the National Vehicle Crime Working Group last met.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with police forces to reduce thefts of (a) cars and (b) catalytic converters.

Chris Philp: The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime and catalytic converter theft.We are working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group (NVCWG), chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles and working with industry to prevent theft. Through the NVWG a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure better sharing of information and intelligence.The Metropolitan Police Service is represented on the Working Group and the Home Office regularly engages with the NCA on crime related to criminal gangs.The most recent meeting of the NVCWG took place on 4th May 2023.The Government is also working closely with the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP) to tackle theft of catalytic converters. The Home Office provided funding in 2021 to set-up the NICRP, the work of which ensures national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft, providing training, sharing intelligence to target offenders, and implementing crime prevention measures.Crime Survey data on vehicle theft since 2010 being down 42%. The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of car thefts recorded by the police in England and Wales, including data by London Boroughs.Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Table 1 Volume of Police recorded offences for ‘Theft of a motor vehicle’, Outer London BoroughsArea2019/202020/212021/22Apr to Dec 22Hounslow876792744562Outer London Boroughs19,30516,15417,97815,472

Cars: Theft

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of recent trends in the number of car thefts in (a) Enfield North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Enfield.

Chris Philp: The best measure of trends in crime is the Office for National Statistics’ Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and its latest estimates shows that the number of incidences of vehicle related thefts has fallen by 42% since the year ending March 2010. The sample size of the CSEW is not large enough to yield estimates at constituency or local authority level.However, the Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of vehicle theft offences reported to and recorded by the police in England and Wales, on a quarterly basis. These are available at the Community Safety Partnership Area level, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not hold information at the constituency level.The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime. We are working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group (NVCWG), chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce theft of and from vehicles.This includes training police officers on methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles and working with industry to prevent theft. Through the NVWG a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure better sharing of information and intelligence.

UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Saudi Arabia

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the security cooperation agreements concluded with Saudi Arabia in March 2023.

Tom Tugendhat: We do not plan to publish any agreements.

Public Statues: Parliament Square

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the police on the steps it has taken following the disruption caused around the Sir Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square in November 2022.

Chris Philp: The Home Secretary holds regular meetings with the Metropolitan Police Service to discuss a range of matters including protest activity and the police’s response to a range of events.The management of public protests which includes the disruption in Parliament Square in November 2022, is as an operational matter for the police.Ministers are unable to intervene in individual cases or in operational decisions made by the police. To do so would undermine the principle that the police are operationally independent of Government.

Burglary

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) local authorities and (b) police forces on reducing rates of burglaries and securing homes.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the significant impact invasive crimes such as burglary can have on individuals and the wider community. As we made clear in the Beating Crime Plan, evidence-based and targeted interventions, such as the Safer Streets Fund, underpinned by getting the basics in policing right, lies at the heart of our strategy to reduce these crimes.The Safer Streets Fund supports police and local authorities investment in street lighting, home security and other measures, to help prevent crimes such as domestic burglary from happening in the first place.To help ensure the police have the resources they need we committed to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023. Furthermore, we welcome the commitment given by Chief Constables and Commissioners across England and Wales that there should be police attendance at all home burglaries, and are working with police leaders to ensure forces are making their attendance data available to the public.

Nitrous Oxide: Sales

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her oral contribution of 27 March 2023, Official Report, column 666, on the Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan, whether she plans to permit the sale of nitrous oxide for domestic culinary purposes.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises that there are many legitimate uses for nitrous oxide in a wide range of sectors, including, but not limited to, medical, industrial and catering.That is why we will shortly publish a consultation to understand the full range and scale of legitimate uses of nitrous oxide.The consultation will enable the Government to design a legal framework that continues to enable legitimate uses and minimises the impact on businesses and individuals.

Visas: Ukraine

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2022 to Question 111601 and the Answer of 12 January 2023 to Question 117608 on Visas: Ukraine, what information her Department holds on the reasons for Ukrainian visa holders not arriving in the UK following the issuing of those visas.

Robert Jenrick: The full outputs of this survey have not been published because it is not in a reportable format.

Department of Health and Social Care

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plan to take to help provide long term mental health support to victims of rape and sexual assault.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan commits an additional £2.3 billion a year for the expansion and transformation of mental health services in England by 2023/24 so that an additional two million people, including victims of rape and sexual assault where they have a mental health need, can get the National Health Service-funded mental health support that they require.NHS England is developing local projects for enhanced mental health support for victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse who have complex trauma-related mental health needs. There will be at least one site per NHS region, with seven sites in total expected by 2024/25. The aim is to improve pathways and access to professionals trained in responding to complex trauma, to improve individual wellbeing.

Research: Disease Control

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the role of the R&D sector in increasing the UK’s pandemic disease preparedness.

Maria Caulfield: To date, £405 million has been invested by the Government to secure and scale up the United Kingdom’s vaccine manufacturing capabilities. The UK Health Security Agency delivers front line research and development (R&D) through initiatives such as the Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre which will strengthen preparedness for future pandemics and other high consequence infectious diseases. The Government also works directly with the R&D sector to increase pandemic preparedness, such as the 10-year strategic partnership with Moderna to set up mRNA R&D.

Veterans: Mental Health

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department is providing for (a) mental health and (b) other support services for veterans.

Maria Caulfield: Op COURAGE is a specialist mental health care pathway for veterans ensuring they can access support and treatment both in and out of hours. In 2023/24 the annual funding for Op COURAGE will be £21.5 million.Funding for other specialist support services for veterans in 2023/24 is approximately £6.2 million.

Coronavirus and Influenza: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who received a flu vaccine in the last twelve months compared to the number of people over the age of 50 who received a covid-19 booster vaccination in the same period.

Maria Caulfield: Monthly flu vaccine uptake is published and available at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figuresHowever, all data are provisional until the annual reports for each flu season are published after the end of the season. The 2022/23 reports are due to be published on 22 June 2023, reporting on uptake between 1 September 2022 to 31 March 2023. The final numbers vaccinated will not be in the public domain until this date.The COVID-19 2022/23 autumn booster programme ran from 5 September 2022 to 12 February 2023. By the end of week 10 2023, week ending 12 March 2023, 65.7%, 15,098,879 out of 22,970,162 eligible to receive a booster, of all people aged over 50 years old, living and resident in England, had been vaccinated with an autumn booster dose since 1 September 2022.

Vaccination: Children and Young People

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase vaccine take-up among 13-16 year olds.

Maria Caulfield: The Department works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England on increasing vaccine access, including working with the Department for Education to maximise uptake in schools, providing clear and accurate information on vaccine benefits and eligibility, and catching up eligible individuals who have not yet been vaccinated. We also work with UKHSA to monitor uptake for adolescent immunisation programmes, which helps to inform current and future vaccine policy, delivery and communication plans. It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled, for themselves, their families and wider society.

Coronavirus: Drugs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the NICE guidelines that were issued following the outbreak of covid-19 in respect of drugs that cause respiratory depression.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made no recent assessment of the effectiveness of its guidelines that were issued following the outbreak of COVID-19 in respect of drugs that cause respiratory depression.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency first received clinical evidence on immune thrombocytopenia as a possible adverse effect of a covid-19 vaccination.

Maria Caulfield: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an adverse event of special interest for COVID-19 vaccines and was under enhanced monitoring from the start of the United Kingdom immunisation programme. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) first received a report of suspected immune thrombocytopenia following COVID-19 vaccination in late December 2020. No cases of ITP where reported from the clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines used in the UK immunisation programme from December 2020.A series of MHRA reviews of ITP and thrombocytopenia were presented to the Commission on Human Medicine (CHM)’s Expert Working Group on COVID-19 vaccine Benefit Risk from February 2021 onwards. Warnings about a very rare risk of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia were added to the product information for the AstraZeneca vaccine in early April 2021. A warning about a very rare risk of thrombocytopenia without thrombosis, including ITP, has also since been added to the AstraZeneca vaccine product information. The CHM advised that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh any known risks.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of the risk of (a) all-cause and (b) cardiac death in the 12 weeks (i) before and (ii) after a covid-19 (A) vaccination and (B) infection.

Maria Caulfield: As part of its ongoing rigorous safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) closely reviews the Yellow Card reports it receives in the United Kingdom alongside safety data from its other sources from the UK and internationally, including mortality statistics. The MHRA also works closely with its UK public health partners to evaluate data on the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines. Following an assessment of the available data, the MHRA concluded that the evidence does not support an association between the COVID-19 vaccines and an increased risk of cardiac related death, or death from any cause. This conclusion has been supported by the independent Commission on Human Medicines’ COVID-19 Vaccine expert advisory group.

Streptococcus: Screening

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to ensure that healthcare providers receive adequate (a) training and (b) resources to (i) diagnose and (ii) treat Group B Streptococcus infections.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) help tackle high rates of Group B Strep infection and (b) improve access to (i) screening, (ii) diagnosis and (iii) treatment for Group B Strep infections in (A) Black and (B) Asian (1) women and (2) babies.

Maria Caulfield: Midwives are a key source of information for new and expectant parents on group B strep (GBS), so it is critical that they are well-informed and this awareness will help eliminate these serious, yet often avoidable, infections in new-born babies. Group B Strep Support and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have an evidence-based i-learn module on GBS that is freely available to RCM members. It would be beneficial for as many midwives as possible to take the training to increase awareness of GBS. Public Health England’s national programme Start4Life provides advice and practical guidance to parents-to-be and families with babies and under five years old, to help them adopt healthy behaviours and build parenting skills. The Start4Life website offers guidance for pregnant mothers on GBS which is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/start4lifeScreening for GBS is not routinely offered to all pregnant women in the United Kingdom. A risk-based approach has been adopted, whereby those women identified as at risk of having a baby affected by GBS are offered antibiotics in labour.The GBS carriage rate varies among racial groups, however the highest rates occur within people of black African ancestry and the lowest in people of South Asian ancestry. Evidence shows that continuity of carer can significantly improve outcomes for women and their babies from ethnic minorities and those living in deprived areas. NHS England wrote to all trusts regarding the Midwifery Continuity of Carer (MCoC) stating that where locally it is decided that provision of MCoC can continue, NHS England continues to encourage prioritised rollout to areas with a high proportion of Black, Asian and mixed ethnicity women, as well as areas of high deprivation.

Streptococcus: Health Education

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) public awareness and (b) education on Group B Strep.

Maria Caulfield: Midwives are a key source of information for new and expectant parents on group B Strep (GBS), so it is critical that they are well-informed. Awareness of GBS helps eliminate this serious, yet often avoidable, infections in new-born babies. An evidence-based i-learn module on GBS is freely available to all Royal College of Midwives members and midwives are encouraged to undertake this training to increase their knowledge around GBS.Additionally, the Government’s national Start4Life programme provides advice and practical guidance to parents-to-be and families with babies and under five years old, to help them adopt healthy behaviours and build parenting skills. The Start4Life website offers guidance for all pregnant mothers, including those from Black and Asian backgrounds, on GBS. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/start4life

Department for Education

Department of Education: Staff

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2023 to Question 177720 on Department for Education: Staff, how many survey respondents from her Department (a) neither agreed nor disagreed with the five statements or (b) offered no response.

Nick Gibb: The table below shows the Leesman score achieved by Department staff who took part in the survey in September 2022.1,250 colleagues received the survey.In total, 282 colleagues responded to the survey.A maximum of 278 colleagues responded to the below set of questions. Where the total for each individual question is below 278, this is because individuals did not respond to the specific question.QuestionAgreeNeutralDisagreeTotalIt enables me to work productively12636116278It supports me sharing ideas/knowledge amongst colleagues1166299277It creates an enjoyable environment to work in11256106274It contributes to a sense of community at work11643117276It's a place I'm proud to bring visitors to7611680272

Department for Business and Trade

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the context of the UK’s accession to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (a) with which organisations and groups the Government has consulted on the digital provisions of that agreement, and (b) whether she has received legal advice on the potential effect of that agreement on (i) existing domestic data protection legislation and (ii) the UK's ability to enact new provisions for domestic data provision.

Nigel Huddleston: In preparation for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Government ran one of its largest consultation exercises, consulting with individuals, businesses, business associations, NGOs and public sector bodies, receiving almost 150,000 responses.CPTPP safeguards the UK’s high standards of personal data protection as set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR, and locks in a requirement for personal data to be protected in all countries that are party to the agreement.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism within the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on the UK’s climate ambitions, including the aim of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is clear that where we negotiate investment protection and ISDS provisions, we will maintain our right to regulate in the public interest, including in areas such as the environment.CPTPP protects the rights of members to regulate for their own levels of environmental protection to achieve their ambitious net zero goals and contains commitments to protect the environment.To meet our ambitions on climate change and the environment, the Government is committed to protecting its right to regulate in the public interest. Our independent investment policy will continue to protect this right.

Flexible Working: Parents

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of flexible working arrangements for parents in employment.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government published its Post Implementation Review of the 2014 Flexible Working Regulations[1] in September 2021. The review concluded that the Regulations were having a positive impact and highlighted numerous benefits for working parents, including how reduced working hours are associated with lower chronic stress for parents with young children. Better supporting parents to return and remain in work is one of the reasons why the Government is supporting the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill[2] and has committed to make the right to request flexible working a day one right. [1] Post Implementation Review – 2014 Flexible Working Regulations https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1398/resources[2] Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Billhttps://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3198

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether exemptions from the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism were sought by Government during accession negotiations to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with all member states.

Nigel Huddleston: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership’s (CPTPP’s) investment chapter includes investor protections that are backed by a modern and transparent investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. These commitments guarantee the treatment investors will receive when accessing and operating in CPTPP markets and provides an independent form of legal redress should investors not receive such treatment.The UK already has investment agreements containing ISDS provisions with seven of the eleven CPTPP countries: Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Having ISDS provisions in a treaty is not new for the UK with the majority of CPTPP countries.In light of the investment relationship the UK has with Australia and New Zealand, we have agreed to disapply the ISDS provisions in CPTPP between our countries.

Raw Materials

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the British Geological Survey for UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre on Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK, published on 17 April.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK” was a study undertaken by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, a programme sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade and delivered by the British Geological Survey. This report delivers on the Critical Minerals Strategy’s commitment to collate geoscientific data and identify target areas of potential for critical minerals within the UK. It is a preliminary assessment, and its findings do not mean that the prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. The Government is working with the British Geological Survey to understand next steps.

Raw Materials

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre holds accountability to the Scottish (a) Government and (b) Parliament.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government launched the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) in July 2022. It is a research programme, delivered via the British Geological Survey, to provide data and analysis on supply, demand, and market dynamics of critical minerals. Funding is provided by the Department for Business and Trade. CMIC does not hold legal status as an organisation and is not accountable to either the Scottish or UK Parliaments. A Memorandum of Understanding between Government and the British Geological Survey sets out the programme’s rationale, objectives, spend profile, deliverables and governance.Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uks-first-critical-minerals-intelligence-centre-to-help-build-a-more-resilient-economy .

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether lenders participating in the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme are able to transfer the guarantee of that scheme to another participating lender.

Kevin Hollinrake: Only in certain limited circumstances, and with the prior written consent of the British Business Bank, can an accredited lender transfer the guarantee of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to another accredited lender.

Restoration and Renewal Client Board

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, whether the R&R Client Board has taken steps with stakeholders to maximise the number of UK-based companies carrying out the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Project.

Sir Charles Walker: Restoring Parliament is already boosting UK industries, and the Restoration and Renewal Programme is committed to ensuring that the opportunities and benefits are spread as widely as possible across the whole of the UK.The Programme will use UK materials wherever possible and create jobs and apprenticeships across the country, from engineering and high-tech design to traditional crafts such as carpentry and stonemasonry.99% of the Delivery Authority’s supply chain expenditure to date has been with UK-based companies. The Delivery Authority’s procurements are advertised using the Government’s Find a Tender service.A series of events is underway across all of the devolved nations and regions of the UK to raise awareness of the R&R Programme, promote the local benefits and opportunities that will be available through the works and listen to potential suppliers—including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)—on how to make the investment from this Programme as accessible as possible while maintaining value for money for the taxpayer.Since 2021 the R&R Delivery Authority has been delivering roundtable discussions with local business and political leaders across the English regions in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce. Through these roundtables the Delivery Authority has to date met with over 100 local suppliers, SMEs and training providers in six regions of England, including the North East, the North West, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, and the East of England.The Delivery Authority has also held introductory meetings with local political representatives and business leaders in the devolved nations to arrange roundtable discussions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For Scotland, these will be delivered in collaboration with the Scottish Chambers, for Wales Chambers Wales, and Northern Ireland is being confirmed.By the end of 2023 the Delivery Authority will have held roundtable discussions and visited sites of interest to the restoration and renewal across the whole of the UK—including Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and every region in England—to build understanding of how the Programme can support economic benefits in local communities around the whole of the UK.Both Houses of Parliament will be asked to approve a way forward for the Programme later this year. Once this decision has been made, the Delivery Authority will be able to further focus its efforts to maximise the number of UK-based companies involved with the Programme.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April to Question 176698 on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, in what way the code used to process the data for Universal Credit sanction duration statistics was not performing as expected; and whether inaccurate data has been published as a result.

Guy Opperman: The department provides updates on the progress of the ongoing investigation on the main sanctions statistics page.

Electronic Government: Disability

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the accessibility of gov.uk services for users of assistive technologies; and if he will take steps to require (a) jobcentre staff and (b) all employers to access training on assistive technologies.

Guy Opperman: DWP is constantly working to improve the accessibility of DWP gov.uk services for users of assistive technologies. Colleagues will follow a formal DWP Digital Accessibility Policy from summer, which sets out the standards product teams must adhere to when creating new products or updating existing products. In addition to this, training and consultancy is provided for product teams, to enable them to create accessible content and test it with assistive software.

Treasury

Taxation: China and Hong Kong

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times tax information has been exchanged with (a) the People’s Republic of China and (b) Hong Kong under (i) Common Reporting Standard and (ii) Exchange of Information on Request agreements in the past year.

Victoria Atkins: In accordance with the confidentiality rules in the relevant international treaties, HMRC does not release statistics on the number of exchanges with individual jurisdictions. All tax information exchange agreements contain secrecy provisions restricting the disclosure and use of data to tax purposes. Before jurisdictions can receive financial data under the Common Reporting Standard they are subject to rigorous confidentiality and data safeguards assessments by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information. There are circumstances where information is not exchanged with jurisdictions, for example individuals who consider their human rights are at risk if their Common Reporting Standard data is exchanged can apply to HMRC to have their information redacted at IEIM406120_application.pdf (hmrc.gov.uk). Financial institutions have been reminded of the redaction process and HMRC will further engage on this with financial industry representatives.

Taxation: Data Protection

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what protective measures are in tax information exchange agreements to safeguard the financial data of UK-based diasporas at risk of transnationalrepression.

Victoria Atkins: All tax information exchange agreements contain secrecy provisions restricting the disclosure and use of data to tax purposes. Financial data exchanged by the UK under the Common Reporting Standard relates to tax residents of the receiving jurisdiction, not tax residents of the UK, and before jurisdictions can receive any such financial data they are subject to rigorous confidentiality and data safeguards assessments by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information. Nevertheless, individuals who consider their human rights are at risk if data is exchanged can apply to HMRC to have their information redacted at IEIM406120_application.pdf (hmrc.gov.uk). Financial institutions have been reminded of the redaction process and HMRC will further engage on this with financial industry representatives.

Ministry of Defence

Ajax Lessons Learned Review

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Ajax Lessons Learned Review.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. member to the answer my predecessor gave to Question 152173 on 28 March 2023.Ajax Lessons Learned Review (docx, 18.0KB)

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Senior Responsible Owners have remained in their post throughout the entire procurement cycle of a programme they are responsible for overseeing since 2010.

James Cartlidge: This information is not held centrally over this time duration.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of Senior Responsible Owners employed by his Department are full time on a programme.

James Cartlidge: Of the 40 current Government Major Projects Portfolio Senior Responsible Owners (SRO), 21 are employed as full-time SROs, 11 of whom are leading a single programme. Senior Responsible Owners - whether civilian or military - provide leadership, and strategic direction. They do not manage projects day-to-day. This is the responsibility of the Programme Directors, who have highly qualified teams comprising years of experience and expertise in their relevant fields. The time commitment required from an SRO depends on the scope, scale and complexity of the project. We follow the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s guidance and have full-time SROs on the most challenging projects.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the maximum number of programmes a Senior Responsible Owner can oversee.

James Cartlidge: The maximum number of major programmes a Government Major Projects Portfolio Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) can oversee is two unless there are very exceptional reasons for holding a third. In such isolated cases agreement from the Secretary of State for Defence and Chief Executive of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority will be sought. The time commitment required from an SRO depends on the scope, scale and complexity of the project. We follow the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s guidance and have full-time SROs on the most challenging projects.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Senior Responsible Owners his Department employs.

James Cartlidge: As at 21 April 2023, Defence employs around 150 formally appointed Senior Responsible Owners, of which 40 lead programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

Armed Forces: Complaints

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of complaints made via the Service Complaints Process were decided in (a) in favour and b) against the complainant in each year since 2010.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Information regarding the outcomes of Service Complaints is available in the public domain. The Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces publishes these in her Annual Reports and supporting statistical tables; further details can be found at the following website: www.scoaf.org.uk

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding from the Tampon Tax Fund has been allocated to (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last two years.

Stuart Andrew: In 2020/21 and 2021/22, the Tampon Tax Fund was allocated between each administration using the Barnett formula. 2020/212021/22England£11,995,000 (inc £150k administration costs )£9,000,000 (inc £150k administration costs )Wales£905,000£675,000Scotland£1,570,000£1,181,250Northern Ireland£530,000£393,750Total£15,000,000£11,250,000

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many applications from groups and organisations in Northern Ireland for funding from the Tampon Tax Fund have been received in each of the last two years; and how many and what proportion of those applications were successful.

Stuart Andrew: The 2021/22 round of the Tampon Tax Fund (TTF) received six applications from organisations delivering solely in Northern Ireland. Of these, two did not meet eligibility criteria. Of the remaining four, one bid was successful in being awarded funding.There were no applications to the 2020/21 round of Tampon Tax funding from organisations delivering solely in Northern Ireland.The minimum application threshold was also reduced for the 2021/22 round of TTF to £350,000 specifically to enable more bids from organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Environmental Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what was the average time taken for an environmental permit application to be processed in each year from 2015 to 2023 inclusive.

Rebecca Pow: The average time taken to process applications in each year between 2015 and 2023 is shown below. This covers applications across Water Abstraction, Discharge to Water, Waste and Industrial Processes. There is a widely varying level of complexity in the applications determined which means drawing statistical comparisons across such a wide range doesn’t accurately account for the different requirements.It is important to note that many application types have seen legislative change and increases in complexity during this time period, making year on year comparison difficult. The Environment Agency have seen a reduction in application quality during this time, requiring additional processing by their permitting department. Backlogs were built up during 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic which the Environment Agency have now largely recovered and they expect 2023/24 to see a reduction in average times.   Year Average of KPI3 (Days): 2015 - 41 2016 - 53 2017 - 64 2018 - 60 2019 - 72 2020 - 89 2021 - 85 2022 - 106 2023 - 107

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of (a) the potential implications for her policies and (b) the potential merits of the practice by Tower Hamlets Council of communicating air pollution levels around (i) building sites and (ii) other temporary areas of high air pollution; and if she will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: Local Authorities are required to review and assess air quality in their area and are encouraged to provide information on local air quality to the public. How they do this will be a matter for the local authority and in London air quality policy is devolved to the Mayor. Air quality, including during construction, should always be a consideration during the planning process for new developments.